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Introduction to Linux - A Hands on Guide

This guide was created as an overview of the Linux Operating System, geared toward new users as an exploration tour and getting started guide, with exercises at the end of each chapter.
For more advanced trainees it can be a desktop reference, and a collection of the base knowledge needed to proceed with system and network administration. This book contains many real life examples derived from the author's experience as a Linux system and network administrator, trainer and consultant. They hope these examples will help you to get a better understanding of the Linux system and that you feel encouraged to try out things on your own.

OpenSuse 12.2 is failing to boot here, displaying the following error:

"error: file '/boot/grub/i386-pc/normal.mod' not found"

I installed off a Gnome LiveCD on a 64-bit machine . The error initially appeared after the first reboot during the install process.

The system does boot from the install CD via the "Boot From Hard Disk" Option.

/dev/sda is the root drive -- in its entirety -- so /dev/sda1 should be the location of the boot loader. I noticed during the install that I was not asked anything about configuring the boot loader.

Via Yast, I determined that both /dev/sda and /dev/sdf where marked as bootable. /dev/sdf is a drive that contains the swap area. (I reported the same problem here: http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...ot-4175426712/. OpenSuse marks the /dev/sdf as a boot partition and it also marks, correctly, /dev/sda, as a boot drive. No other Linux I've used has done this. (And 12.2 does it after I manually remove the boot flag and reformat the drive.)

I have removed the boot flag from /dev/sdf and reconfigured grub using Yast.

"/dev/sda is the root drive -- in its entirety -- so /dev/sda1 should be the location of the boot loader."

Re-do the install but make at least a single /boot partition.

I mean when it creates the file system you tell it to make maybe a 240mb or so partition and mount it as /boot. The rest you can use for everything else.

Makes no difference, and the separate /boot partition should not be needed.

I did reinstall successfully: The install routine sees a nonexistent MBR on /dev/sdf, and, hence, the Grub2 configuration is incorrectly set to put the boot loader there. Even though the installer offered no way to opt out of automatic configuration, I was able to override it and correct the boot loader location to /dev/sda.

I still don't know why I was getting Grub errors on the failed boots.

For the record, I've installed multiple versions of Linux on machines with multiple physical drives. All of those install routines are error-prone and/or broken. Linux is easy to install on a single drive if you are willing to give up creating your own partitions. It's a pain in the neck to install on more than one drive.